Japan would 'scrap' Games if not held next year - Tokyo 2020's Mori

Japan would 'scrap' Games if not held next year - Tokyo 2020's Mori

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease, walks past the Olympic rings in front of the Japan Olympics Museum, in Tokyo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said that the Olympic Games, already postponed to 2021, would be "scrapped" if they could not take place then, according to an interview published on Tuesday.

The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government last month postponed the Games until July 2021 because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

With the epidemic's worldwide infection rate climbing and experts suggesting a vaccine is still a long way off, questions are being asked about whether the huge setpiece event might need to be delayed further.

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"No. In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped," Mori said in the interview with Japanese sports daily Nikkan Sports, when asked if the Games could be postponed again until 2022.

However the former prime minister remained confident the they would go ahead in 2021.

"We have delayed the Olympics until next summer after we will have won the battle," he was quoted as saying.

"The Olympics would be much more valuable than any Olympics in the past if we could go ahead with it after winning this battle. We have to believe this otherwise our hard work and efforts will not be rewarded."